Leonardo Photo Thread

[bbs]

Thanks very much, David and clear1. The replacement nib should arrive soon so I’ll check the fitting on that. I waited more than three months for this pen (the Sand ...) and it’s beautiful, but my heart sank when I saw it wasn’t the nib I ordered. Ah well, hopefully it’ll get sorted soon!

[dms525]

Apologies for wandering slightly off topic, but I know I’ll find most Leonardo users here!

 

I need to swap the nib in a Momento Zero Grande (the nib supplied was not the one I ordered, despite the box saying it was, sigh...)

 

The vendor is sending me a new nib, and says they are screw-in, but it seems incredibly tight and I don’t want to force it if he’s wrong. The feed has already gone slightly skew-whiff.

 

Has anyone removed their nib, please?

 

Well, my MZ Grande Sand arrived 2 days early, and it is beautiful. But would you believe I also got a pen with the wrong nib (a F), even though the sticker on the box said it was fitted with a Stub? The vendor offered to order a stub and send it to me, but I contacted Salvatore Matrone directly, and he will send me the stub nib directly. Eliminate the middle man.

 

BTW, I can verify that the nib is friction fit on this model.

 

This experience means there were QC failures at both the factory and at the retailer. Disturbing. Anyway, here is a photo:

 

 

 

 

The appearance of being facetted is even more striking "in person." The piston operated smoothly and does hold a lot of ink. The nib is not terrific. It is a nail. Funny, but I prefer the Leonardo steel stubs to the gold ones, but the gold Fine I have is a pleasure to write with. This steel one is nothing special.

 

I hope the replacement nib arrives quickly.

 

David

[bbs]

David, I obviously got your stub nib pen!!!

 

The really frustrating thing is the replacement nib has arrived - and it’s screw-in .... with a plastic feed, not ebonite as the stub has. So this time I will contact Salvatore ..... aaargh!

[dms525]

David, I obviously got your stub nib pen!!!

 

The really frustrating thing is the replacement nib has arrived - and it’s screw-in .... with a plastic feed, not ebonite as the stub has. So this time I will contact Salvatore ..... aaargh!

 

Oh, man! That certainly is frustrating. I hope I have better luck with what Salvatore sends me.

 

FWIW, you can transfer the nib and feed from a screw-in carrier to a friction fit one. I've done that. I would be a bit more reluctant to change a nib to a different type of feed. I think that is a really important individualized fitting.

 

I hope we both have better luck going forward!

 

David

[mad_pharmacist]

This is my sentiment exactly. I got MZ Grande in sand finish. I like the finish very much. It's like a stacked celluloid on steroid. While it looks facetted, it's perfectly round. The medium steel nib isn't as good as I had expected. I ordered MZ Grande because I was impressed with the steel nib in MZ Positano. The piston works well, but it doesn't have the ratchet mechanism any more.

 

My red Speranza has a bit of inkflow issue. It seems to dry up while I am writing as if it's running out of ink. With a quick shake, the inkflow resumes. I had this kind of issue when using a converter with more viscous ink. The surface tension seems to prevent the ink from flowing freely. But this can't possibly the case. The diameter of Speranza converter is much wider and I am using a lubricated ink (Monteverde Horizon Blue). I have cleaned the pen with diluted ammonia and diluted soap solution multiple times, but it seems to persist.

 

 

 

 

The appearance of being facetted is even more striking "in person." The piston operated smoothly and does hold a lot of ink. The nib is not terrific. It is a nail. Funny, but I prefer the Leonardo steel stubs to the gold ones, but the gold Fine I have is a pleasure to write with. This steel one is nothing special.

 

I hope the replacement nib arrives quickly.

 

David

[como]

Sorry to hear. Have you tried to take out the nib and feed and wash them with oven cleaner? I had another pen with the same problem. When I took out the nib and feed, I found some sticky dried out oil under the nib where it made contact with the feed. I also ran a thin blade through the ink channel of the feed (this might increase your ink flow so be careful). It seemed to have fixed the problem. The surface tension is dreadful, and we just have to try everything.

 

This is my sentiment exactly. I got MZ Grande in sand finish. I like the finish very much. It's like a stacked celluloid on steroid. While it looks facetted, it's perfectly round. The medium steel nib isn't as good as I had expected. I ordered MZ Grande because I was impressed with the steel nib in MZ Positano. The piston works well, but it doesn't have the ratchet mechanism any more.

 

My red Speranza has a bit of inkflow issue. It seems to dry up while I am writing as if it's running out of ink. With a quick shake, the inkflow resumes. I had this kind of issue when using a converter with more viscous ink. The surface tension seems to prevent the ink from flowing freely. But this can't possibly the case. The diameter of Speranza converter is much wider and I am using a lubricated ink (Monteverde Horizon Blue). I have cleaned the pen with diluted ammonia and diluted soap solution multiple times, but it seems to persist.

 

[aardvarkbark]

 

Looks lovely - I'd be really interested to know how the resins compare in terms of quality and feel compared to the old ones as I believe they've switched from their Italian resins...

 

To whose resins have they switched? And how old can the old ones be for a company just two years old?

 

How does one gauge the quality of a resin? I understand the difference between feel of resin vs wood vs ebonite vs precious metal (I have them all), but are you suggesting there are degrees of difference between resins? That must be a Mont Blanc marketing scheme, if so.

[JonSzanto]

 

And how old can the old ones be for a company just two years old?

 

Well, many of their pens were made using old OMAS stock, in celluloids, ebonites and (possibly) acrylics. There are certain qualities from less-recent (i.e. older) Italian materials that have a look and charm of their own. Certainly one of the reasons these pens have appealed to me, as opposed to another generic acrylic thrown together.

[DaiCapp]

 

To whose resins have they switched? And how old can the old ones be for a company just two years old?

 

How does one gauge the quality of a resin? I understand the difference between feel of resin vs wood vs ebonite vs precious metal (I have them all), but are you suggesting there are degrees of difference between resins? That must be a Mont Blanc marketing scheme, if so.

 

By the old ones i refer to the resins before they switched and to me there is a clear difference between, for example, the resin on the section of my Pelikan M1000 and the resin on my pens made from Jonathan Brooks resins. I prefer the feel on the Jonathan Brooks resins.

 

in terms of switching, my understanding is that Leonardo have switched from Italian to Taiwanese resins but I don't know the manufacturer.

 

Finally, I don't subscribe to Montblanc marketing schemes or any others for that matter.

[dms525]

I don't anything about the origins of most of the resins Leonardo uses, and I know nothing about any recent change in sourcing. But the resins in their most recent MZ Grande releases look pretty nice to me. I just gave in and ordered one in "Girasole." We'll see, and I'll share my impressions.

 

David

[DaiCapp]

I don't anything about the origins of most of the resins Leonardo uses, and I know nothing about any recent change in sourcing. But the resins in their most recent MZ Grande releases look pretty nice to me. I just gave in and ordered one in "Girasole." We'll see, and I'll share my impressions.

 

David

 

Thanks David - I'll be interested in your views. I have a sand MZ Grande that I really enjoy and want to add another hence my curiosity about the new materials...

[MichalK]

Leonardo Officina Italiana Taina Pen Show 2019 Limited Edition

 

 

more in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/354321-leonardo-officina-italiana-tainan-pen-show-2019-limited-edition/

 

[clear1]

 

, but are you suggesting there are degrees of difference between resins? That must be a Mont Blanc marketing scheme, if so.

 

There are so many kinds of resins. How can they be all the same? Papers, inks, etc, name anything and there are degrees of difference.

[como]

I am curious how this pen turns out when your Urushi work is done. Personally I feel that this is too expensive of a base pen to be made into an Urushi pen, but I can understand why you like it. I almost bought this purple ebonite model myself, but in the end I went with the blue yellow semi demo resin model. To me, this model is more elegant, and the demo is more cheerful. Please do share your end result.

Leonardo Officina Italiana Taina Pen Show 2019 Limited Edition

 

 

more in this thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/354321-leonardo-officina-italiana-tainan-pen-show-2019-limited-edition/

 

[MichalK]

I am curious how this pen turns out when your Urushi work is done. Personally I feel that this is too expensive of a base pen to be made into an Urushi pen, but I can understand why you like it. I almost bought this purple ebonite model myself, but in the end I went with the blue yellow semi demo resin model. To me, this model is more elegant, and the demo is more cheerful. Please do share your end result.

 

I will be publishing updates on this one too. "too expensive" in fountain pens world? Any pen above 200$ is too expensive from rationale point of view

I like this pen very much even without any urushi work on it. O got two of them from their creator to work with urushi on them, so I jumped into At the same time I lacquer some Montblanc 149 - same ballpark pricewise.

[como]

😀😀😀 I think I can agree with you. Come to think of it, its not a good idea to use cheap wine for gourmet cooking either.

I will be publishing updates on this one too. "too expensive" in fountain pens world? Any pen above 200$ is too expensive from rationale point of view

I like this pen very much even without any urushi work on it. O got two of them from their creator to work with urushi on them, so I jumped into At the same time I lacquer some Montblanc 149 - same ballpark pricewise.

 

[mad_pharmacist]

Finally my sunflower (girasole) MZG has arrived despite the confusion and delay caused by FEDEX.

 

This slightly translucent material gives a bit of depth and creates a visually interesting pattern. I like this. The fit and finish are very good. This is my 5th pen from LOI and is most likely to be my last LOI pen for awhile. All of my LOI pens are cosmetically flawless and beautiful, but three of them are suffering from inkflow issues. It's a bit too early to say how this is going to perform but so far so good. The steel nib is hard, but well tuned. The inkflow is consistent and even. The only minor concern is the piston knob. When it is fully unwound, it seems to wobble slightly. I am not sure this piston filling system is a definite upgrade from the captive converter. I actually liked their captive converter.

Edited June 19, 2020 by mad_pharmacist

[Vicary]

Here's an updated photo of regular production Momento Zero Grandes...the Girasole and Luna Rossa are new additions. I'll probably add the Blue Marina Capri as well. I don't see myself getting the light blue Fiordacqua...but it will be tough not to complete the series!

 

[aardvarkbark]

Here's an updated photo of regular production Momento Zero Grandes...the Girasole and Luna Rossa are new additions. I'll probably add the Blue Marina Capri as well...

 

That's a fine looking collection. FWIW, the only MZGrande I like is the Blue Marina Capri, which arrived yesterday. As you know, these look so much better in person than in any pictures. The depth of the cracked ice resin is fantastic.

 

 

[aardvarkbark]

Finally my sunflower (girasole) MZG has arrived despite the confusion and delay caused by FEDEX.

 

...The only minor concern is the piston knob. When it is fully unwound, it seems to wobble slightly. I am not sure this piston filling system is a definite upgrade from the captive converter. I actually liked their captive converter.

 

I agree. I have two of the MZ Art Deco Grandes, and, as a big fan of Deltas, very much like the ratcheting piston (captive converter) knob under the removable blind cap. For these MZG2020s, they seem to have changed the design to a functioning blind cap that operates the piston. I'm not sure whether it's a legitimate piston or they just secured the blind cap to a cc knob. There's no ratcheting, so maybe it's a legit piston.

 

I, too, preferred the knob under a removable blind cap. That allows one to move the plunger down toward the nib without creating the gap between blind cap and body as results with this current design.

 

Plus, I too get what I believe to be your 'wobble'. There is 'play' in the blind cap, where it is loose and must be turned about 30 degrees before the piston engages with noticeable tension. Not a fan.